Dark Souls
by Ulquiarra
Summary: During Orihime's imprisonment, she fears that she is growing as cold-hearted and cruel as the inhabitants of Las Noches. What happens when Ulquiorra decides to assuage her, mildly ridiculous, fears? So much for 'I am not here to comfort you.'
1. Chapter 1

**A.N. **Quick thing I wrote months ago. I don't like the beginning as much as I did then, but it's okay. Please, tell me if it's OOC so I can pretend it was on purpose!

**Dark Souls**

_"He wants ta devour ya, Miss Hime, wants to eat'cha', and not just yer soul. Remember, it's always the quiet ones."_

Gin's ominous words were echoing in Orihime's ears as she laid contemplatively on the white couch. Ulquiorra had been away on a mission, and Gin had taken the opportunity to come talk to her. In exchange for news about Rangiku, he had promised to give her a warning that would help her survive. She hadn't expected it to be about her silent, aloof guard. Part of her doubted the sincerity of Gin's words. Ulquiorra had never shown any sort of feeling towards her, much less hunger, or, if Gin was right, lust. But, then she remembered the way his smile changed when she told him about Rangiku and decided a man who loved that much wouldn't lie about something that would hurt Orihime. He loved Rangiku too much to let her friend get too hurt.

Sighing, Orihime turned onto her stomach, her cheek on her hands, her eyes glued to the crescent moon. She couldn't figure out her reaction to Gin's warning. Of course, she had flushed, eyes widening, heartbeat quickening, but strange places on her anatomy had become suddenly quite warm as images flooded her mind. Ulquiorra's emotionless green eyes staring down at her, moody face inches above her, black talons pinning down her wrists, thin tail swimming in the soft moonlight, dark wings slowly flaring over her as explosions occurred inside her-  
Orihime groaned and hit her head against the arm of the couch. The fantasies of what Ulquiorra had looked like when he chased off Ichigo (she was still the only one in Las Noches who knew that form) had been bad enough with Gin there and the lights on, but in the dark, where she was alone... "Ulquiorra," she whispered, flipping on to her back. "What are you doing to me?" She ran her hands through her copper hair, hating herself for wishing the hands were Ulquiorra's, hating herself doubly for not wanting them to be Ichigo's.

She threw off her covers and jumped off the couch, pacing agitatedly, trying to dispel the strange urges she'd never even given thought to before, let alone the desire to act on. With Ichigo, her dreams were all soft kisses in the rain and strolls off into the sunset, or a golden knight rescuing her from a black prince. With Ulquiorra, her dreams were harsh, rough, needy kisses, desperate battles to be won and hard shoves into walls or beds or floors or couches, or they were a dragon transmogrifying into a sullen Lord of Sin with a need to dominate and taint, dragging the things he found beautiful down until they were as twisted as him, and he didn't feel so alone in the dark.

"Well, I'm certainly tainted," she said with a sardonic sort of smile. "And I didn't even need black roses or poisoned chocolates." She moved under the window and murmured gravely, "You better hurry back stronger, Ichigo. If you don't, your pure princess won't exist anymore." "That's incorrect, woman," a voice said from behind her. Orihime smirked. "You wouldn't say that if you could see my heart, _my lord _Ulquiorra. It's blackening more each day."

"Perhaps," he allowed, coming up behind her. "But I can still see the sinless waves radiating off of that body of yours that has all the male Espada on edge." "Including you, Ulquiorra? Although, I suppose you're right. Sin has yet to touch me, but that doesn't affect my heart," Orihime shot back. A pale hand suddenly wrapped around her waist and Ulquiorra's cold breath chilled her ear and neck as he whispered, "Your silver eyes are as bright as the day I met you. They have darkened, true, but not dimmed. Maturing does not equate something malicious, Orihime Inoue. Besides, do you truly believe I would allow the crime of extinguishing your brilliant light to rest on my hands, as the blood of the orange-haired shingami you saved from death did?"

She smiled, shyly She didn't like feeling dark, and after Ulquiorra's kind words, she was more sure than ever that Gin was lying. Her 'relationship' with Ulquiorra didn't have to be dark. She could picture him saving her from the big, bad wolf on a dark night on a moonlit path, or waking up to see moonbeams falling gently on his melancholy face. Still, there would never stop being a passion and lust she had never felt before. Thinking about this, her lip quivered.

"How do you know I'm not dark?" she asked softly. "I'm thinking these- things, that I would never have imagined-" "The fact that imagining yourself as dark is enough to make you cry is proof enough of your light," he promised. "You're reaching adulthood, and in a tough situation. It's no wonder dark thoughts are creeping in, with none of the light-heartedness they would have had if you'd been sharing and experiencing these thoughts with a friend, like your Tatsuki Arisawa. Do you still require proof?"

Orihime nodded sadly, wondering what he was thinking of. "What would you do if our positions were reversed?" Ulquiorra asked, his face still near her neck. Orihime pondered this, and said, "I would feel bad, and try and free you, or make sure you were happy no matter what." "Exactly," he whispered. "A dark being would see you and want to see if he could make his darkness consume you, or if you would pull through innocent. He would want to have you, writhing and pleading, beneath him. Would want to manipulate you until the only the thing you were sure of was him, no matter how much he made your pretty head spin or your soft heart hurt."

Her brows furrowed as she subconsciously tilted her head so his lips could reach her throat easier, should he decide to. "But what if the light being wants these things done to her, but could never do them herself?" she forced out, despite red cheeks. She knew Ulquiorra wouldn't even consider thinking of her differently. "Then she would be human," Ulquiorra answered simply. "A mix between shinigami's purity and hollow's instincts. If you saw a dying man crying for a hand to hold, what would you do?" "Give him my hand, of course!" she replied immediately. "I would do anything I could to help him!"

"Precisely," he murmured, somehow still toneless. "A hollow would consume the man. A dark human would consider what exactly he could steal from the man's body when he died. An evil human would torment him along his way to death's door. A shinigami would kill him and purify him, to speed along the job. Only a kind human would help this man. What would you do if you saw a teen girl being raped?"

Orihime gasped. "I would cry, and call the police before confronting the man myself. He had no right to hurt this girl!" "A dark creature wouldn't," he stated, his hand on her waist moving to slowly trail up her spine, pushing harder when the contact caused her back to arch. "A dark creature would knock the man away, and, after killing him, would take over himself. He would enjoy the teen girl's screaming, thrill over her desperation and fear leaking out of every pore of her soon-to-be ruined body. He would delight in scratching bloody furrows down her soft body, relish in the feeling of her soul leaking out, would feel utter ecstasy in sinking his teeth in her soft flesh and ripping."

As he said this, Ulquiorra bit her pulse point, hard. Orihime's head lolled back, her eyelids closed halfway, and she let out a tiny whimper at the unexpected pain and pleasure as his not-as-warm-as-a-living-creature tongue roughly laved her skin. With agonizing carefulness, he slowly dragged his tongue up the side of her neck before stopping at the corner of her lips. One of his hands was in her sunset hair, holding it back, and the other was pulling her to him by the waist. Pushing her into a wall, he murmured against the corner of her mouth, "You want this. I can see it in your glazed eyes, trembling body, and quickened pulse. You want what I described to you." She chuckled hoarsely and whispered, "Ulquiorra, I want you to eat me."

He smirked. "Really? Let me give you a taste of what that would be like." He kissed her hard, forcing her mouth open, tangling his tongue with hers, tasting every millimeter of her mouth. One of his hands was on the back of her thigh, the other was caressing right below her breast. As he kissed her, she felt a strange tugging at four points on her body. Right between her eyes, the nape of her neck, the center of her solar plexus, and_ down there_. It felt like her essence was traveling from those four points out of her mouth and into Ulquiorra. Orihime gasped when she realized that was exactly what was happening. Ulquiorra was consuming her soul.

Oddly, it didn't hurt. And if she'd been in control, she had a feeling it would feel downright good. Something told her it was Ulquiorra who was making it feel this nice. Slowly, deciding to blindly trust him, she dropped the guards on her spiritual pressure, allowing it to pour out into him. His reaction was instantaneous, as he was experiencing something no hollow had ever felt before; a soul freely giving their life away. He gasped and kissed her harder, one hand lifting her until she wrapped her legs around his waist and the other softly stroking her cheekbone. Just as suddenly, he pulled away, resting his forehead on her collarbone, ignoring every instinct in his body that was screaming, _screaming_ to consume every bit of her sweet, willing soul.

"Ulquiorra?" she asked huskily. "Are you all right?" "Why did you do that?" he asked coldly, not looking up. He felt her confusion and elaborated impatiently, "Letting, no, giving me your soul. Do you know how badly I wanted to take it?" "Why didn't you?" she replied. He looked up at her slowly. "That's why. Because I knew you wouldn't take more than you needed." She blushed. "And because it felt really good." He couldn't help it. His eyes reflected the incredulity he was feeling. "You liked the sensation of me tearing away your soul, your life force, your spiritual pressure?" he demanded. She blushed darker and nodded, explaining, "It was weird at first, because you were tearing away my soul, but then you just felt really, coaxing, I guess, so I surrendered, knowing you wouldn't take anything I couldn't survive without, and it felt... nice. Handing you my soul like that, wondering if you'd take it or not." He stared at her. "Are you suicidal? Do you want Lord Aizen to kill me for killing you?" Orihime's grey eyes flickered away before moving back to him as she whispered, "I wouldn't mind dying by your hands, but I don't want Aizen to kill you."

"Lord Aizen," he corrected automatically. She shook her head. "No. If I'm going to have to be property, the only one I'm going to belong to is you. After all, you're the one that makes me feel this way." He looked at her, almost curious. "Makes you feel what way?" Orihime shrugged. "I dunno. THIS way."

Ulquiorra stared at her, frustration flickering behind the normally emotionless emerald irises. "I have discovered why you intrigue me," he announced suddenly. "You are insane, therefore, your reactions are different than I expect, which, in turn, captures my attention. Unfortunately, there is no method to your madness, so you will be my primary focus for what seems to be an increasing amount of time."

Orihime smiled shyly. "I don't mind." Ulquiorra gave her one of his soul-searching, eye sex looks and repeated. "No, you don't. Which adds to the time I will be spending with you, seeing as it is both my duty to protect you and my... desire to learn more about you, so I will be here to prevent you from fulfilling your obvious death wish." "I don't have a death wish!" Orihime protested indignantly. "You're just trying to come up with logical reasons as to why you wanna spend so much time with m-"

Her truth-telling was put to a stop by Ulquiorra pressing his lips against hers, effectively shutting her up, even after he pulled away. Ulquiorra quickly noted, "Hmm. Who knew that all along the best way to cease your babbling was to kiss you? I would have tried it much sooner." Orihime blushed, although that didn't stop her from responding eagerly when Ulquiorra kissed her again.


	2. EpilogueJoke

**Epilogue/Joke**

"Ulquiorra." Said Espada didn't look fazed as he glanced around the room, although his mind was racing. Why on Hueco Mundo would Gin, Tousen, Aizen, and all of the Espada and their Fraccion be in a circle around him? He hadn't done anything wrong, unless you counted all of his secret meetings with Orihime, which included lots of adult-type touching and her giving him pieces of her soul- oh. Maybe that's why he was here. But why did Aizen sound so... concerned?

Aizen continued. "I'm going to be frank with you." He paused, then said, "Grimmjow, tell Ulquiorra what's going on." The blue-haired Espada frowned and said, "We are really worried about you Ulquiorra."

When he hesitated, Ulquiorra blankly asked, "Why would you all feel the need to be worried for my welfare?" Szayel took up the speech. "Listen. We want you to know you aren't alone. I have been where you are. Nnoitra has, too. Even Tia." Slightly irritated, Ulquiorra inquired, "And where am I that has you all so concerned?"

Finally, Grimmjow blurted it. "Well, we all noticed it. Not only have you not called anyone trash in weeks, you haven't eaten. Anything. For four fucking weeks." Now, being around Orihime had changed Ulquiorra greatly. So imagine everybody's surprise when Ulquiorra's cheekbones suddenly looked as if they had been dusted with coal, which, only Gin and Aizen knew, was Ulquiorra blushing. To Ulquorra's hidden mortification, Gin called him on it.

"Oh my God, are you blushing?" The black darkened and Ulquiorra replied stiffly, "No." "Ya totally are! Yer _blushing_, Ulquiorra!" Ulquiorra took the high path and ignored both Gin's and a few others laughter, focusing on Aizen. "My lord, I have been eating." Aizen shook his head, restraining his own chuckles as the black faded from Ulquiorra's cheeks. "The only meals we have seen you at are the ones you are required to attend, and then you don't eat. We asked the cooks and they said you weren't coming in any other time to eat. However, something confused me. Something one of the servants who delivers Miss Orihime's food reacted to." If Ulquiorra's face could have whitened any more, it would have.

"We asked him if he had seen you eat anything. He, rather like you, started blushing and mumbling before trying to run off. When we questioned more persistently, he admitted that he had once walked in on you eating before he ran away. From us, I mean, and he wouldn't talk anymore. Something you said spooked the poor guy bad enough he was more afraid of you than of me."

"I apologize, my lord," Ulquiorra stated emotionlessly, inwardly panicking in a cool, Ulquiorra way that involved thinking of how Orihime would react when told that Aizen had killed him. Aizen smirked. "Comparing your reactions, I think I might have an inkling of what's going on. Lilynette, would you mind fetching Miss Orihime? I think she might know whether Ulquiorra's been eating or not."

Szayel and Tia, smartest of the bunch, gasped. "No way," Szayel laughed. "You don't think...?" "We'll see, won't we?" Aizen replied sinisterly. Ulquiorra was thinking quickly. If he went into Segunda Etapa, could he beat off all of the Espada and the three traitors? Was it worth the risk? Just then, he heard Orihime's voice.

"What did you say this was about, Lilynette? Something about Ulquiorra being sick?" "Yeah, they say he's not eating anything, and for some reason, Lord Aizen thinks you know something we don't." Lilynette responded. Orihime had also changed from being around Ulquiorra. For one, she now knew how to lie, courtesy of the Cuarta Espada's lessons, which guaranteed the fact that she could lie, cheat, act, steal, fight, and outwit almost anybody. Unfortunately, that may or may not include Aizen.

"Orihime," he purred in a self-satisfied tone. "Would you mind answering some questions for us?" "Not at all, Lord Aizen," Orihime replied, faking shyness. Ulquiorra alone could see her internally plotting away at what she should say. "First, have you seen Ulquiorra consume a soul?" "Wasn't that the first thing he did when he arrived in the human world?" she dodged smoothly, looking puzzled. "That was me," Yammy interrupted. Orihime shrugged, not meeting the eyes of anybody, looking slightly scared.

"You didn't answer my question," Aizen stated, raising an eyebrow. Orihime jumped slightly. "O-oh. Well, yes, I suppose I have." "I see. Now, tell me, has he ever done anything to harm you?" Aizen prodded. Orihime shook her head furiously, her silver eyes meeting Ulquiorra's green ones as she said confidently, "No. Ulquiorra would chop off his own arm before harming me. And disobeying your orders." She added on the last bit hastily, realizing she might have given something away. Annoyance flashed across Aizen's face. "Szayel. Do you notice anything different about Orihime?" Szayel grinned. "Now that you mention it, my lord, is it just me, or has her spiritual pressure increased significantly?" Ulquiorra cut in. "Her spiritual pressure increased, and you assume that I have been consuming her soul?" "It makes sense," Gin replied. "I mean, yer sittin' there, nibblin' away at the edges, and she's gonna start replenishin' her spiritual pressure faster, yeah? Ya eat, let's say, a quarter of her soul a day, and she starts makin' two quarters, one to replace the quarter she lost and one just her soul naturally growin'. So ya don' feed from her for a couple a days, and ya have a bloated soul."

"That actually makes sense," Nnoitra said, stunned. "Under the assumption I am consuming her soul," Ulquiorra argued back, not lying, but implying that he wasn't. "Orihime, is Ulquiorra consuming your soul?" Aizen asked point blank, tact be damned. Orihime was silent for a moment, struggling for a half truth. "Ulquiorra is not forcibly taking my soul," she admitted. "But is he consuming parts of it?" Starrk asked, looking at her with surprising gentleness and startling everybody. "I know how it feels to have a hollow consume bits of your soul. It creates a bond, doesn't it?" He kept on going, avoiding all the shocked looks and focusing on Orihime's agreeing face. "He and you have inseparable essences. He feels what you do, and vice versa. Not only that, but when his spiritual pressure increases, so does yours. When yours weakens, so does his. And when he touches you..."

Starrk trailed off delicately and both Ulquiorra and Orihime blushed. Lilynette giggled. "See? I told you, Starrky. You didn't believe me! Everytime, after I visited with Orihime, I'd tell you, "She and Ulquiorra are bound tighter than you and I", but did you believe me? No! Not until-" "I saw it with my own eyes," he finished with her, smiling. "And of course they're bond is tighter, they're physically affectionate. Do you honestly think I could molest myself like that?" "You're right," Lilynette agreed, her mouth twisting with disgust. "That would be totally wrong and perverted."

"I don't think anyone's paying enough attention to the fact that Ulquiorra is _eating_the prisoner," Grimmjow interrupted, narrowing his eyes at the couple. Aizen chuckled. "Well, she doesn't mind, Ulquiorra is not anorexic, therefore, I don't care." That said, he sauntered off, and soon everyone followed. Grimmjow, however, hid to see what would happen next.  
What happened disgusted him to the core. Orihime jumped Ulquiorra and they vanished, through Sonido, although not before Grimmjow heard Ulquiorra growl. Grimmjow ran off, chanting over and over, "Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew."


End file.
